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NHL free agency creates hope, and plenty of questions: Cox

Teams like the Oilers and Sabres bulked up to give their fans renewed optimism, while teams like Boston and Detroit don’t seem to have much of a plan at all. All in all, more than $600 million was spent in a very short time.

Vancouver gave former Bruin Loui Eriksson a six-year deal to essentially give a team with no shot at a Stanley Cup the chance to move higher in the standings and miss out on the better prospects it needs to really become a contender again. (Michael Dwyer / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

When more than $600 million gets spent on NHL free agents in a day and the league’s balance of power remains basically unchanged, there is no great moral to the story, no compelling lesson of hockey economics.

The money is in the system so the money gets spent. Teams mostly steered away from excessive term, but at the same time gave in by awarding so-called “buyout proof” deals — and possibly “lockout-proof” contracts — built on signing bonuses rather than salary. In other words, restraint in one area gave way to a lack of discipline in another. The agents are always a step ahead, it seems.

The truth, meanwhile, is that there were more franchise-altering talents available seven days earlier at the NHL draft, players like Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Jesse Puljujarvi, than there were in free agency this year. Steven Stamkos would have been the exception, but he decided he loved Tampa too much to even let any other team bid.

Still, there was plenty of conversation created, and certainly hope was generated in markets that badly needed it:

The Edmonton Oilers are a team capable of playing heavier hockey now in the Western Conference after trading Taylor Hall for six-foot-three defender Adam Larsson and giving $42 million (U.S.) to https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2016/07/01/frenzy-shows-free-agency-favours-the-free-feschuk.html winger Milan LucicEND. This was as much an exercise in public relations for the Oilers as it was a roster-strengthening exercise. GM Peter Chiarelli couldn’t just come back with the same core and the same look after another failed season. The reality is Connor McDavid will mostly decide if Edmonton can challenge for a playoff berth next year, while that Lucic contract seems to have all kinds of red flags. He was a 30-goal scorer in 2010-11 and hasn’t been one since.

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The New York Islanders lost all four UFAs from last year’s roster, including Frans Nielsen (Detroit), Kyle Okposo (Buffalo), Matt Martin (Toronto) and Brian Strait (Winnipeg). Majority ownership of the Isles also switched hands on Friday, and then the team spent heavily to bring in free agents Andrew Ladd, Jason Chimera and P.A. Parenteau. It’s not clear, with the smoke still clearing, whether the Isles are better, worse or the same. If they want John Tavares to do like Stamkos and choose to stay in two years, they need to get much better.

Eric Staal of the Thunder Bay Staals took a significant haircut but still got three years and $10.5 million out of the Minnesota Wild, a good Western Conference team still looking for a way to become very good. Staal couldn’t produce much with Carolina last season or with the Rangers after he was acquired at the trade deadline. The Wild are hoping for something like the Phil Kessel Effect; what happens when a talented offensive player goes to a team and thrives because he can play much lower in the lineup and avoid the best defenders on the other team.

A year after drafting a host of very small players and veering heavily towards a skill-first mentality, the Maple Leafs have shifted towards size and brawn over the past 10 days. Seven of their 11 picks in Buffalo were used on players six-foot-two or taller. Martin, meanwhile, will bring his greatest hits in from the Island and rough-and-ready Roman Polak is back on a one-year deal, possibly to be traded again to a contender next winter a la Daniel Winnik. The Leafs eschewed putting more than a pinky into free agent waters, perhaps saving their powder for Harvard free agent forward Jimmy Vesey, assuming Buffalo (which now holds his rights) can’t sign him before he gets to negotiate with the entire league on Aug. 15.

The Florida Panthers just finished enjoying their best regular season ever, and in response have turned much of their team upside down, right down to the training staff. The revamped front office now has Tom Rowe in charge, although Dale Tallon is still there. Meanwhile, Dmitri Kulikov, Brian Campbell and Erik Gudbranson are out, while Jonathan Marchessault, Colton Sceviour, Jason Demers, James Reimer and Keith Yandle are in. Florida has either enhanced a young team looking to make a big step forward or unnecessarily altered a pretty good thing.

Buffalo moved to 23rd from 30th last season, and Okposo gives young centres Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart a nice target for their passes. Alex Nylander, the club’s first-round pick, may push for a roster spot next fall. The Sabres clearly are on the move, and might make a bid for a playoff spot if one of Robin Lehner, Linus Ullmark or Anders Nilsson can be reliable and strong in between the pipes.

Then there are the confusing teams. After being frustrated in their hopes of at least bidding for Stamkos, Detroit went out and signed the 32-year-old Nielsen (six years, $31.5 million), Steve Ott and Wild failure Tomas Vanek. Not sure what direction this indicates for the Red Wings. Ditto for Vancouver, which gave Loui Eriksson a six-year deal to essentially give a team with no shot at a Stanley Cup the chance to move higher in the standings and miss out on the better prospects it needs to really become a contender again.

Boston, also trying to rebuild and compete at the same time, gave 32-year-old centre David Backes five years and $30 million. Yes, the B’s have had five first-round picks the last two years. But none have been in the top 12 selections. Not sure what the plan is here.

There’s much still to be done. Good players like Kevin Shattenkirk, Cam Fowler and restricted free agent Jacob Trouba could be dealt. Tampa signed Stamkos and Victor Hedman to big new deals, but there could be a cap crunch that wedges other players out of roster spots.

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